Jackie Lay | The Atlantichttps://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/2018-07-03T11:50:22-04:00Copyright 2018 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All Rights Reserved.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/563636/"></iframe>
<p>The American fairytale is far from enchanted, argues Matthew Stewart in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/the-birth-of-a-new-american-aristocracy/559130/">his June 2018 cover story</a> for <em>The Atlantic</em>. Power and wealth are concentrated in an anxious aristocracy, comprised of 10% of the population, that reigns by dividing the lower classes and pitting them against each other. It’s how most aristocracies throughout history have worked. It’s also how the American elite convinced 25 million non-slaveholding citizens to aid and abet them in slavery.</p>
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<p>Can America ever live up to its promise of a government by and for the people?</p>
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Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedWhen the Poor Turn Against the Poor2018-07-03T11:39:40-04:002018-07-03T11:50:22-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-563636The American aristocracy is anxious, pitting have-nots against each other.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/560222/"></iframe>
<p>When it comes to the division of wealth, many Americans believe that the country is split between the 1%, which possesses a significant share of the country’s money, and the 99%, or “the people.” In reality, <em>The</em> <em>Atlantic</em> writer Matthew Stewart argues, 9.9% of the population comprises America’s new aristocracy, which often “takes wealth out of productive activities and invests it in walls.” But this group of people is rich in more than mere money, and its constancy poses an insidious threat to the promise of American democracy.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/the-birth-of-a-new-american-aristocracy/559130/">Read Matthew Stewart's cover story</a> on the new American aristocracy in the May issue of <em>The Atlantic.</em></p>
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Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedThe 99% Is a Myth—Here's How It Breaks Down2018-05-16T09:42:37-04:002018-05-16T09:43:02-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-560222There is a new American aristocracy, and it's bigger than previously thought.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/555959/"></iframe>
<p>Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is often interpreted as an anthem of individualism and nonconformity, seemingly encouraging readers to take the road less traveled. This interpretation has long been propagated through countless song lyrics, newspaper columns, and graduation speeches. But as Frost liked to <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/89511/robert-frost-the-road-not-taken">warn his listeners</a>, “You have to be careful of that one; it’s a tricky poem—very tricky.” In actuality, the two roads diverging in a yellow wood are “really about the same,” according to Frost, and are equally traveled and quite interchangeable.</p>
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<p>In fact, the critic David Orr deemed Frost’s work “the most misread poem in America,” <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/09/11/the-most-misread-poem-in-america/">writing in </a><em><a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/09/11/the-most-misread-poem-in-america/">The Paris Review</a>:</em> “This is the kind of claim we make when we want to comfort or blame ourselves by assuming that our current position is the product of our own choices… The poem isn’t a salute to can-do individualism. It’s a commentary on the self-deception we practice when constructing the story of our own lives.” In the final stanza, we can’t know whether the speaker is sighing with contentedness or regret as he justifies the choices he’s made and shapes the narrative of his life.</p>
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<p>Frost wrote the poem to tease his chronically indecisive friend, Edward Thomas, who misinterpreted the meaning and enlisted in the military shortly thereafter, only to be killed two years later in WWI.</p>
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<p>“The Road Not Taken” was <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1915/08/a-group-of-poems/306620/">originally published in <em>The Atlantic</em></a> in 1915 along with two other poems from Frost. It is now widely considered to be one of the most popular works of American literature.</p>
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Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedAmerica's Most Widely Misread Literary Work 2018-03-19T15:00:19-04:002018-03-19T15:04:33-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-555959Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” originally published in <em>The Atlantic</em> in 1915, is animated in a new video.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/552878/"></iframe>
<p dir="ltr">To celebrate the 2018 Winter Olympics, here’s an animated tour of the history of sports.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">The first recorded sport in history was spear throwing, which arose in 70,000 BC out of a need for ancient hunters to practice their skills. Bowling was the first known ball game, appearing in Egypt in 3,200 BC; later, there was Pitz, played by the ancient Maya in 2,500 BC, followed by Episkyros, known as “common ball” to Greeks living in 8<sup>th</sup> century BC.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Long before the Olympics, there were the Tailteann Games, which the ancient Irish held around 1,800 BC. At the first recorded Olympic Games in 760 BC, there was only one event: a footrace.</p>
<br>Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedA Visual History of Sports2018-02-09T11:13:23-05:002018-02-09T11:22:31-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-552878From the Mayan ballgame Pitz to ancient Greece’s bull-leaping, here’s a tour of the history of athletic games.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/551627/"></iframe>
<p>Naked mole rats feel no pain. They’re exceptionally long-lived. They frequently enter reversible comas, and a single queen mole rat rules over her colony with totalitarian authority. They can also survive without oxygen for extended periods of time—a feat that almost no other animal can accomplish. In this episode of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/series/animalism/">“Animalism,”</a> Ed Yong, a science writer for <em>The Atlantic</em>, explains why the naked mole rat is one of the strangest animals in the kingdom.</p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedEd Yonghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/?utm_source=feedThe Naked Mole Rat Is One of the Weirdest Creatures Out There2018-01-26T13:01:00-05:002018-01-26T13:05:14-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-551627Almost everything about the naked mole rat is bizarre.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/551054/"></iframe>
<p>It's a remote control. It's a tracking device. It can deliver shocks of up to 600 volts. You think the electric eel is shocking? You haven’t seen anything yet.</p>
<br><p>In this episode of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/series/animalism/"><em>Animalism</em></a> hosted by <em>The Atlantic</em> science writer Ed Yong, we investigate the subtle and sinister ways of the electric eel.</p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedEd Yonghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/?utm_source=feedThe Most Shocking Animal in the Kingdom2018-01-20T18:05:27-05:002018-01-20T18:05:27-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-551054Eels use electricity in more complex ways than anyone had imagined.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/550373/"></iframe>
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDamP-pfOskOxL-_FhJoERhSSoi-4O0lN"><em>Animalism</em></a> featuring <em>The Atlantic</em> science writer <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/">Ed Yong</a>, we investigate fascinating examples of culture in the animal kingdom, including the bizarre traditions of Capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica, the long-held fashion trends of bottlenose dolphins in Australia’s Shark Bay, and the incredible "Top 20" music charts of humpback whales, which have a structure that strongly resembles human songs.</p>
Ed Yonghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedAnimals Have Culture, Too2018-01-12T11:46:27-05:002018-01-12T11:54:26-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-550373Animal culture can be as rich and varied as human culture.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/549512/"></iframe>
<p>Animal eyes come in the most spectacular range of styles, shapes, and sizes. There are eyes with lenses made of rock, eyes that can look up and down at the same time, and eyes that can spot prey from a mile away. But one animal has the most incredible—and certainly the strangest—eyes of them all.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDamP-pfOskOxL-_FhJoERhSSoi-4O0lN">Watch more episodes of The Atlantic’s <em>Animalism</em>.</a></p>
<br>Ed Yonghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedBrian Jimenezhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/brian-jimenez/?utm_source=feedHow Do Animals See the World?2018-01-02T14:36:16-05:002018-01-02T14:40:09-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2018:178-549512Take a tour through the kaleidoscope of sight in the animal kingdom.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/549035/"></iframe>
<p>Sleep is universal in the animal kingdom, but each species slumbers in a different — and often mysterious — way. Some animals snooze with half their brain, while others sleep for just two hours a day (without suffering sleep deprivation). In this episode of <em>Animalism</em>, Ed Yong guides us through the latest research on how creatures catch their z’s.</p>
Ed Yonghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedBrian Jimenezhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/brian-jimenez/?utm_source=feedHow the Animal Kingdom Sleeps2017-12-28T12:44:00-05:002017-12-28T12:44:14-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-549035For animals, sleep is both universal and incredibly varied.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/547919/"></iframe>
<p>We’ve all received an unwelcome holiday gift. In fact, around 70 billion dollars’ worth of presents are returned every year in the U.S. In this video, <em>The Atlantic</em> writer Derek Thompson explains why many presents amount to what economists call “deadweight loss”: the company wasted time making it, the giver wasted time buying it, and the receiver wasted time returning it.</p>
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<p>So, how do we design a gift-giving formula that strikes the right balance between efficient, practical, and sentimental?</p>
<br>Derek Thompsonhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/derek-thompson/?utm_source=feedAlice Rothhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/alice-roth/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedWhy Is Everyone So Bad At Giving Gifts?2017-12-08T14:38:09-05:002017-12-08T14:39:58-05:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-547919Some much-needed, if unsolicited, advice on gift-giving for the holidays. <iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/536550/"></iframe>
<p>Humans have been obsessed with eclipses for centuries. But, what can they actually teach us about our place in the solar system? Total solar eclipses have helped bring about some of the most important astronomic discoveries. Nicolaus Copernicus’ eclipse observations helped him determine that the Earth revolved around the Sun; light spectrums of the sun’s atmosphere – only visible during a total solar eclipse – led to the discovery of helium in the 19<sup>th</sup> century. In this video we explore what scientific knowledge the few minutes under the moon’s shadow have uncovered over time.</p>
Leah Varjacqueshttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/leah-varjacques/?utm_source=feedJeremy Raffhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jeremy-raff/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedAlice Rothhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/alice-roth/?utm_source=feedRebecca Boylehttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/rebecca-boyle/?utm_source=feedWhat Scientists Have Learned From Eclipses2017-08-14T16:47:49-04:002017-09-05T09:55:00-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-536550Under the moon’s shadow, humans have created both grand myths and scientific breakthroughs.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/536331/"></iframe>
<p>Comedian W. Kamau Bell struggled with his identity growing up. As a self-described “nerd,” he favored martial arts over basketball and rock over hip-hop. This struggle carried over into adulthood and his early efforts at standup comedy. At one point, he even considered giving up comedy entirely. It was at this crossroads that Bell stumbled upon a Rolling Stone article, which became the catalyst for him finding his own voice. Since then, Bell has gone on to headline shows across the country, host a CNN series, and document it all in his new book <em>The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell. </em></p>
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Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedNicolas Pollockhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/nicolas-pollock/?utm_source=feedW. Kamau Bell Doesn't Want to Fit In2017-08-09T12:41:38-04:002017-08-09T12:52:16-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-536331After years of trying to match others’ voices, a comedian finds his own.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/535692/"></iframe>
<p>Sally Yates knew she had found her calling during her first week of law school. She spent the next 27 years working at the Justice Department, rising from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Georgia to the number two position at the Department of Justice. Her career abruptly ended when President Trump fired Yates after she ordered the Department of Justice not to defend his travel ban. “I couldn't in good conscience send Department of Justice lawyers in to defend the Executive Order that I did not believe was grounded in truth,” Yates says in this interview filmed at the 2017 <a href="https://www.aspenideas.org/">Aspen Ideas Festival</a>. “I don't feel like I would have been doing my job to have done anything other than that.”</p>
Leah Varjacqueshttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/leah-varjacques/?utm_source=feedNicolas Pollockhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/nicolas-pollock/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedWhat Drives Sally Yates2017-08-02T14:56:05-04:002017-08-02T15:35:24-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-535692The former Acting attorney general reflects on her career and the decision that ended it.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/534036/"></iframe>
<p>Each week, <em>The Atlantic's</em> top editors—Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief; Matt Thompson, executive editor; and Alex Wagner, contributing editor and CBS anchor—sit down with leading voices to explore what's happening in the world, how things became the way they are, and where they're going next.</p>
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Daniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedA Podcast 160 Years in the Making2017-07-18T15:00:59-04:002017-07-19T17:18:06-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-534036Join top <em>Atlantic</em> editors every Friday for conversations with some of the world's leading voices<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/533532/"></iframe>
<p>Trump campaigned on deregulating Wall Street, saying that regulations are “killing our country and our jobs.” He wants to repeal Dodd-Frank, the 2010 law that tried to reign in the banks after the financial crisis. What exactly does Dodd-Frank do? And is the president right that it threatens the American economy?</p>
Daniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedAlice Rothhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/alice-roth/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedGillian B. Whitehttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/gillian-b-white/?utm_source=feedWhat Is Dodd-Frank and Why Does Trump Want to Repeal It?2017-07-13T11:21:10-04:002017-07-13T11:36:11-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-533532The president claims regulations are hurting economic growth. The data shows otherwise.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/531405/"></iframe>
<p>Why are some people more prone to uncomfortable moments than others? This video explores why certain humans avoid eye contact and have trouble picking up on social cues. For further reading on the topic, check out Ty Tashiro’s book <i>Awkward.</i></p>
Alice Rothhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/alice-roth/?utm_source=feedOlga Khazanhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/olga-khazan/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedJeremy Raffhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jeremy-raff/?utm_source=feedWhy Are Humans Awkward?2017-06-23T12:49:21-04:002017-06-28T13:52:32-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-531405The science behind that cringeworthy feeling<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/530892/"></iframe>
<p>North Korea is an insulated rogue state that will do anything to survive. To understand how the standoff between Pyongyang and the world became so dire, it helps to go back to the founding of North Korea nearly 70 years ago, explains Mark Bowden in this short video. </p>
Daniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedMark Bowdenhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/mark-bowden/?utm_source=feedHow North Korea Became a Crisis2017-06-19T18:22:16-04:002017-06-28T13:52:12-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-530892To understand how the standoff between Pyongyang and the world became so dire, it helps to go back to the country's founding<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/530451/"></iframe>
<p>Is violence a part of human nature? A new study attempts to answer the question by looking at the rates of lethal violence across one thousand species. Ed Yong breaks down the list of the most murdery mammals and he explains how humans stack up.</p>
Alice Rothhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/alice-roth/?utm_source=feedEd Yonghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/?utm_source=feedJeremy Raffhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jeremy-raff/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedWhich Animal Murders the Most? 2017-06-15T16:09:37-04:002017-06-28T13:50:28-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-530451Humans aren't the only mammals who kill each other. So how do we stack up to lions, tigers, and bears?<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/529632/"></iframe>
<p>Wherever your friends are, you can always check up on them with social media. But does that mean that we’re keeping friendships alive past their natural expiration date, or are virtual connections actually making friendships stronger?</p>
Alice Rothhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/alice-roth/?utm_source=feedNicolas Pollockhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/nicolas-pollock/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedJeremy Raffhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jeremy-raff/?utm_source=feedJulie Beckhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/julie-beck/?utm_source=feedHow the Internet Is Changing Friendship2017-06-08T14:20:08-04:002017-06-14T15:42:41-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-529632Does social media make all friendships last forever?<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/522486/"></iframe>
<p>While he was still president, Barack Obama <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/01/my-president-was-black/508793/">sat down with Ta-Nehisi Coates</a> and discussed what it’s like to be a symbol of power and the recipient of people’s anger and excitement. “When people criticize or respond negatively to me, usually they’re responding to this character that they’re seeing on TV called Barack Obama, or the office of the presidency, or the White House and what that represents,” he says in this animated interview. “So, you don’t take it personally. You understand that if people are angry that somehow the government is failing, than they are going to look to the guy who represents government.”</p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedTa-Nehisi Coateshttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ta-nehisi-coates/?utm_source=feedBarack Obama Is Okay With the Criticism2017-04-10T17:38:10-04:002017-05-04T11:47:55-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-522486The former president explains what it’s like to be both a person and a symbol.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/517920/"></iframe>
<p dir="ltr">Bill Nye, of the popular former PBS show <em>Bill Nye the Science Guy</em>, had an untraditional path to stardom. He quit his engineering job in 1986 and started working for a television show. When a guest cancelled, Nye filled in doing “science stuff” under the moniker Bill Nye the Science Guy—which led to over five seasons of his own show. “In general, people regret what they don't do. They don't regret too much what they do do,” he says in this animated interview. “So I don't regret having quit my job, having taken these chances. I don't regret that for sure.”</p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedDaniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedBill Nye on the Nature of Regret2017-02-27T11:19:48-05:002017-05-04T11:56:03-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-517920In an animated interview, the scientist describes the importance of taking chances.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/517227/"></iframe>
<p dir="ltr">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of books like <em>Americanah</em> and <em>Half of a Yellow Sun</em>. In this animated interview, the Nigerian-born author describes coming to America for college and being floored by how little her classmates knew about Africa. Cautioning against a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story">single story</a> has become a tenet of her life’s work. “I don't think stereotypes are problematic because they're false. That's too simple,” she says. “Stereotypes are problematic because they're incomplete.”</p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedDaniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedChimamanda Adichie on What Americans Get Wrong About Africa2017-02-20T09:00:00-05:002017-05-04T12:08:24-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-517227In an animated interview, the author explains the problem with stereotypes.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/516453/"></iframe>
<p><em>Atlantic</em> writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has always been curious. “When I was a kid, I pretty much was interested in the same things I'm interested in now: Why does the world look like the world looks?” he explains in this short animation. Coates describes struggling in school and being terrified of journalism at the start of his career. Eventually, with the help of a few key mentors along the way, he learned to craft stories with vision and intention. “Journalism has taught me that I'm a lot tougher than I thought I was,” he admits. “Writing is hard but it is joyous.”</p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedDaniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedTa-Nehisi Coates on Asking Questions That Have No Answers2017-02-13T13:26:05-05:002017-05-04T12:10:35-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-516453In a short animation, the writer describes the lifelong curiosity that led him into journalism.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/515631/"></iframe>
<p>Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent a large portion of her legal career advocating for women’s rights and was appointed as the second female justice to the Supreme Court in 1993. In this animated interview, she describes attending law school with a 14-month-old baby at home. Ginsburg attributes some of her career successes to her husband’s flexibility and the experience of being a mother. “I think I had better balance, better sense of proportions of what matters,” she says. "I felt each part of my life gave me respite from the other.”</p>
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<p>This interview was conducted by Ryan Park for his story<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/01/what-ruth-bader-ginsburg-taught-me-about-being-a-stay-at-home-dad/384289/"> "What Ruth Bader Ginsburg Taught Me About Being a Stay-at-Home Dad"</a>.</p>
Daniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedJackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedRyan Parkhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/ryan-park/?utm_source=feedRuth Bader Ginsburg on the Perspective That Comes With Motherhood2017-02-06T09:44:03-05:002017-05-04T12:19:33-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-515631In an animated interview, the Supreme Court justice describes her early career.<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/515001/"></iframe>
<p>Caitlyn Jenner was 65 when she transitioned from male to female. In this animation, she describes the duality of her former life, the overwhelming response to her Olympic victory, and what it was like to say goodbye to Bruce. “This is bigger than the games, it's bigger than anything else I've ever done,” she says. For Jenner, the transition was an issue of personal truth, and also connected her to a broader community: “Transpeople deserve your respect,” she says. “They've been through a lot.”<br />
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This is the first episode of “Bold Questions,” an animated series that explores the power of curiosity. </p>
Jackie Layhttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/jackie-lay/?utm_source=feedDaniel Lombrosohttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/daniel-lombroso/?utm_source=feedKasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegghttp://www.theatlantic.com/author/kasia-cieplak-mayr-von-baldegg/?utm_source=feedCaitlyn Jenner on Looking in the Mirror and Not Recognizing Yourself2017-01-30T14:43:55-05:002017-05-15T11:54:13-04:00tag:theatlantic.com,2017:178-515001“When you are burdened with something constantly—every day—you can't thrive as a human being.”